Governor Sebelius honors Kansas‚ private colleges

NORTH NEWTON, KAN. - Governor Kathleen Sebelius has declared June 5-9 Kansas Private Colleges Week in recognition of the benefit the 18 Kansas‚ private colleges provide to the state.

Sebelius noted that half of the approximately 200,000 living alumni of Kansas private colleges still live in Kansas, and many alumni are some of the state's most important civic, business and cultural leaders. Private colleges are also major employers in smaller communities and contributors of cultural and educational events, she added.

To mark the week, prospective students are given the opportunity to visit any or all of these campuses. Bethel College will host interested students at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each day of the week. For the first three years of this event, this week of visits will be funded by the Kansas Independent Colleges Association (KICA).

"We are hoping that high school students take advantage of this week to begin to explore their opportunities in Kansas private colleges and universities," said Doug Penner, president of the KICA and former president of Bethel College. "For the student who hopes to combine outstanding academic achievement with a personalized, relationship-intensive college experience, we believe the private colleges are ideal."

About 22,000 students from across the nation enroll at Kansas private colleges each year. These schools annually award about 21 percent of the state's bachelor's degrees and about 27 percent of the state's master's degrees.

The institutions support their students through generous financial aid, awarding more than $57 million each year in institutional grants and scholarships to supplement grants and scholarships from the federal and state governments.

For more information on Kansas private colleges, or on Kansas Private College Week, contact Mark Millikan at (785) 235-9877, or visit www.kscolleges.org.

Back to News NORTH NEWTON, KAN. - Governor Kathleen Sebelius has declared June 5-9 Kansas Private Colleges Week in recognition of the benefit the 18 Kansas‚ private colleges provide to the state. Sebelius noted that half of the approximately 200,000 living alumni …